Louisville Transfer DB TreSean Smith & JUCO LB signee Lavar Gardner Not On Illini’s 2020 Roster
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- A Division 1 transfer expected to compete for a safety spot and a junior college linebacker expected to provide positional depth will not be members of the 2020 Illinois football roster.
An Illinois football spokesperson confirmed to Illini Now/Sports Illustrated Thursday morning that neither Louisville transfer safety TreSean Smith nor linebacker Lavar Gardner reported to campus for the first day of training camp and neither will be on the roster this season. The Illini began its first day of preseason practice Thursday as they have less than a month to prepare for a scheduled season opener against Big Ten defending champion Ohio State, who was ranked No. 2 in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll released Thursday morning.
Louisville transfer defensive back TreSean Smith (shown above intercepting a pass in the 2017 opener vs. Purdue) did not report to Illinois' campus for preseason camp after giving his verbal commitment in May.
Smith, who was suspended indefinitely last season by first-year Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield, was supposed to arrive as a graduate transfer with two seasons of eligibility remaining. Smith, who was expected to take over for the open safety position left by graduate Sydney Green for the upcoming season, reportedly put his name in the transfer portal database in late February. The safety position will now likely be a competition between senior Kendall Smith and junior Kerby Joseph.
In his first two seasons at Louisville under then-head coach Bobby Petrino, Smith had totaled 70 tackles and two interceptions after being a three-star prospect out of nearby Cincinnati, Ohio. Smith, who is 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, committed to Louisville over significant Power 5 Conference offers from Penn State, Notre Dame, Iowa State, Syracuse and Virginia Tech.
Gardner, who signed with Illinois as a three-star prospect from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, was expected to provide depth at either of the two outside linebacker spots. Last season Gardner, 5-foot-11 and 200-pound linebacker, accumulated 65 tackles, four sacks, nine tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two pass breakups as a sophomore at Hutchinson. Gardner’s loss means Illinois will begin preseason camp with just seven scholarship linebackers on its official roster.